BW 3: Queens' Gambit
by Karra Greenfield
Summary: AU: Gambit - noun: in chess. an opening in which a player seeks to obtain some advantage by sacrificing a pawn or piece. As a new stage in the Beast Wars opens before them, Ruby struggles with herself about the upcoming losses to the Maximals. Can she allow her friends to die or will she be the biggest threat to her own mission?
1. Ch 1: Aftermath

Ch 1 – Aftermath

The base was eerily silent, static the only noise around them now as the alien's attack came to an abrupt end. Ruby stood beside Rattrap, leaning heavily on the table to do so, as they all watched the static filled image that had once been the read out of the weapon and Optimus' journey to it. Rattrap quickly took the seat she had vacated and attempted to access the ship's scanning systems. When button pressing failed the rodent did the only thing he knew worked, half of the time at least, and gave the computer a bit of "percussive maintenance". As the system came back up online the others gathered around behind him, leaving Ruby to watch them all as she rested against the table.

"Computer, report," Rattrap ordered.

"Alien construct destroyed," the system answered promptly.

"Oh, later fer _dat_ hunk of junk," the rodent fighter retorted, "Where's Optimus?"

The computer took a moment to scan before it gave its answer to the inquiry. "Unit Optimus Primal destroyed."

The news hit them hard, not wanting to admit the truth just yet. Airazor stood by numbly, but gave a gentle smile to Tigatron as he gently patted her shoulder. Cheetor held his head until his legs couldn't hold him anymore and sat harshly in the chair of the station directly beside the one Rattrap was using as he attempted to try to find any sign that Optimus was actually still functional but maybe severely injured. Even Ruby felt the overwhelming loss of the situation as struggled to stay upright at the table.

"I should have been flying that ship," Cheetor said with a sigh.

Airazor touched the young bot's shoulder supportively, trying to soothe him. "Optimus did what he thought was best and saved the whole planet doing it."

"But why didn't he leave the ship as planned?" Tigatron asked, knowing it was the question on all of their minds.

"Good question," Rattrap said as he let the seat move him backwards and utilized the momentum to stand, "and I know just who ta ask." Drawing his weapon, the Maximal infiltrator aimed at the spot that Black Arachnia once stood, finding it now void of their unwelcomed visitor. "Slag! That sneaky ball o' legs took it on the lamb!"

"I'll hunt her down," Tigatron promised darkly, transforming into his beast form. Just as he prepared to leap down the hallway to pursue his prey Sentinel began to sound its alert.

"Alert! Quantum surge detected vector 5 9 7."

"Hold it, Stripes," Rattrap ordered, "I think we've got a bigger problem." Giving a quick glance at the screen he began to issue orders to the others. "We've gotta try ta hold this thing off. Tigatron yer on sensors; track dat wave. Cheetor get de shields back online. Airazor keep an eye on de power core. Ruby," the Maximal in charge looked back at the injured one that was trying to stand on her own two feet, "Get to de 'R chamber."

Ruby shook her head as powerfully as she could, "No. I can wait."

"Dat's an order, Missy."

"I don't want to take any more power from the shields than necessary," she pleaded her case quickly.

Quickly seeing her point as valid, Rattrap turned to his own station as the ship began to shake violently. "Den hang on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride."

"Exterior shields at maximum!" Cheeteor yelled.

"We've got power fluxuations all over the board," Airazor warned, standing at her own station, "They'll never hold!"

"Make 'em hold," Rattrap called over, "Optimus didn't blow 'imself up so we could be scragged by space junk."

Ruby, stumbling to keep herself upright, looked over at Tigatron's screen as the computer gave its reading on the incoming wave. The white tiger began to give a countdown to impact, bracing himself for it.

The transwarp wave hit this ship violently, sending huge surges of power throughout its systems. The holo-projector jolted and struck Ruby, sending her flying back into the CR chamber door. Airazor's station was the next to become shorted out, sending the other Maximal female flying backwards to the floor from the surge. The rock structure that the Axalon had become wedged into from its initial crash started to become unstable and fell onto the top of the ship right over Cheetor's station sending the young scout flying back into the holo-table and throwing Rattrap to the floor.

Managing to open her optics against the searing pain in her body, Ruby heard Cheetor and Rattrap begin to scream in pain as a blinding white light filled her vision and jolted her with yet more pain. Her systems couldn't take the further punishment and the flying squirrel felt herself go into stasis lock.

* * *

It took all of his strength and more to make it over to where he kept his spare parts. The move was slow going, having only one arm and half of a leg to drag himself by, but Rhinox eventually made it. Quickly just grabbing what cables he could, knocking over quite a bit in doing so, Rhinox attached them to his temporal stabilization device. Reaching into his subspace pocket he grabbed one of the energon plates and attached the other end of the wires to it.

As he felt the device begin to stabilize slightly, the Maximal engineer reached into the tool storage area on the leg that was slowly rematerializing and began to fix the unit. With any luck it would hold, but he had no idea on how long that would be. Despite the vast amount of scrap parts he had managed to salvage Rhinox was not sure that he would be able to build a new device. Even if he did prove to be the miracle worker Optimus always claimed he was the old Maximal wasn't sure it would be in time.

* * *

With a shout, Megatron burst through the rocks that covered the cave he had hidden inside to wait out the Vok's attack. As before, Optimus Primal was successful in his valiant sacrifice in its demise, but this meant that his time was running short. His original plans were to take out Dinobot, since the traitor had been a huge thorn in his side since before they even stole the Autobot relic, the Golden Disk. Now that the saurian will realize that their original mission would resume that made things all the more difficult for Megatron, at least for him during the original timeline in the Beast Wars.

Climbing to the top of the mountain, the dragon took in the new scenery which included only one moon shining down on the planet. The Earth had taken heavy damage from the planet destroying ray and would take time for the vegetation to grow back in the areas that were directly hit. As he curled around the rocky point of his perch, he focused on his own thoughts as he took in the breaking dawn light.

Dinobot would not be his only target anymore, nooo. While his younger self and his sorry excuse for troops had the Maximals preoccupied with his attack, Megatron would sneak around and destroy the Maximal base and Rhinox, whom he recalled missing from the initial battle, with it. He would deal a more decisive blow to the Maximals and prevent Optimus Primal's return from the All Spark.

Using the remaining darkness as his cover, he began his long journey to the Axalon and to wait for his moment of victory. The only time he had to stop and hide was when he heard Waspinator approach, knowing that he would be with the insect on their way to attack the Maximal base.

* * *

As he came to in the CR chamber, Rhinox could swear he heard Optimus' echoing cry ringing in his audio receptors before they detected the whirl of the chamber door opening. "Uh, yo! Big buddy," he heard Rattrap before the smaller bot came into focus, "how ya feelin'?"

It took a few moments for his optic sensors to focus, but the sight before him was maybe one of the worst he could have ever imagined. Rushing past Rattrap, Rhinox took in the heavily damaged Axalon bridge, "What happened?"

"Rhinox? You ok?" the newly Transmetal rodent asked, silently questioning if the repair cycle was truly completed. Surely Rhinox remembered that the aliens were coming to confront them all, or was that memory lapse due to the shot of cyber venom.

Rhinox stared at the bot before him a little too long, shocked at the change. "Rattrap? What the-?"

It took a moment for the Maximal infiltrator to figure out that the engineer was pointing at him. "Oh!" he laughed a bit, "it's kinda a new look."

Giving a sweep of the bridge again, Rhinox felt his spark seize a bit in his torso. Laying on the holo-table was Ruby, still in stasis lock. She too had changed. The dark green and gold color scheme she shared with him was gone. Her beast mode covering was now mostly dark silver as her base color, her robotic accent colors burnt gold and even some dark red that matched her name. The temporal device that she had kept shielded under her torso armor was now exposed as her bestial head rested as her shoulder guards.

Gently taking her tiny hand in his own much larger one Rhinox looked around in shock. "Where's Optimus?"

Rattrap couldn't even look him in the optics. "Gone," he got out tightly, "a transwarp explosion."

Looking back down at his grand-sparkling, Rhinox sighed. "Tell me what happened. All of it."

As he was about to begin, Rattrap heard two sets of footsteps coming down the hall towards them. The heavy, unmistakable stomp of Dinobot gave the rodent some reassurance that he would not have to retell the story more than once. Even this once was going to be hard to get through. There was no shock in Dinobot's reaction at seeing him, which meant that Cheetor must have given him a heads up in the change, no doubt having to explain some about his own.

Dinobot snarled a bit down at Rattrap and then looked at Rhinox. The sight of Ruby, altered like the other two, in stasis lock and resting on the table did not bode well with him. He observed silently how Rhinox was behaving around her; there was a care there that went beyond comrade. Even though part of his programming gave him a father like role with Airazor, his behavior could easily be read as a tighter family bond with the tiny Maximal. It made Dinobot wonder if Rhinox knew the truth about Ruby. Pushing the thought aside when Rhinox picked up the tiny fem and placed her in the CR chamber he had just exited, the warrior settled in as Rattrap began to update them on what exactly happened.

* * *

The sound of battle echoing through the chamber was what greeted Ruby as the repair systems brought her out of stasis lock. The CR chamber was dark inside, which gave the echoing blasts and crashes a more frightening pulse.

"Let me out!" she called out, her voice panicked. "I can't protect you if I'm trapped in here!" When the shooting went quiet she pressed her audio receptor to the chamber door and listened as hard as she could through it. More crashing sounded, but it only fueled her urgency to escape.

Bracing herself on the bench she had sat on, Ruby began to kick at the door. Since there was only minimum power going to the repair chamber, it only took a few kicks for the locks to release and the door to slide up.

Not waiting for it to lift completely, Ruby rushed out and took in the situation as quickly as she could. Rhinox had been hit, resting face first on the floor in front of the station he had been shot into. Dinobot was currently struggling with Inferno as the Predacon attempted to rip off his head. She didn't even think as she screamed and kicked Inferno in the face, between getting shot earlier by the insect and his attempt now to do damage was just too much for her processor to allow her the moment to.

Inferno cackled madly as he turned his head to face her. "You will burn for that, Maximal!"

Ruby tried to back away as the Predacon grabbed for her, but fell as he tightly wrapped his three finger grip around her ankle to yank her leg out from under her. With how hard she fell back and how hard he jerked her appendage around, she could have sworn the ant was trying to rip her leg off. Kicking him in the face with her free foot only sent the ant into laughing hysterics after each blow. "You're mine now!"

Ruby had to blink at the sudden disappearance of her attacker. One nano-click he was reaching for her flaying foot, the next he was gone. Looking up she saw that Rhinox had picked the ant based fighter up by his head. "I don't think so," her grand-sparker retorted to his captive before he threw the Predacon down the lift.

As Rhinox was aiming his weaponry down the open lift, Dinobot had stood up and was now standing over Ruby. When she looked up at him, the towering Maximal smiled as he offered her a hand to help get her back on her feet. Returning the smile, Ruby placed her tiny hand in his own larger one and allowed him to pull her up. Suddenly she paused as she looked at her hand, her mouth open in shock as she held it up. Her usually green metal was now a burnt gold, the joints a dark ruby red.

"Thank you," he said to her quietly, which drew her attention back to the present.

Rhinox had leapt down the lift opening to give chase after the Predacon dictator that had so brutally ended the life of their commanding officer. Dinobot, eager for a fight, quickly followed him. Ruby, not really wanting to be left alone on the ship, ran to the lift and looked down. Dinobot was still standing there, looking up at her and reached up in a silent offer to catch her if she wished to jump down. Smiling with a nod, Ruby sat on the floor with her legs dangling down the opening before she slipped down. Catching her easily, the saurian based fighter gently set her on her feet before they walked over to the others.

Ruby had to fight her smile. This was how she was use to seeing Rattrap, and although Cheetor was still due for an upgrade she didn't think that he looked too bad how he was now. As they began to discuss this unexpected phase in the Beast Wars, she took the opportunity to look at herself in the sunlight. Her main concern over the change was the temporal device was now exposed. As she was brushing her fingers over it she heard Cheetor call her name. Looking down at scout, since he was still currently in his beast mode, she raised her optic ridges. "Yes?"

"What's that?" he asked her gently.

As the others focused on her, Ruby had to frown as she looked back at the device. "It's what's keeping my spark going."

"Oh," the feline said quietly.

"Let's get Tigatron and Airazor into the CR chambers," Rhinox ordered, both to quickly aid their comrades and to draw any further questions away from the device.

* * *

The device pulsed to life as he attached the last wire from the old one onto it. Counting himself fortunate that he still remembered all the details of the device that Ruby had replace her old one, Rhinox slowly got up onto his feet.

He had dallied long enough for his repairs. The Vehicons could be tracking his whereabouts now and the best thing for him to do was to pack up and move. Not the most ideal, but if he wanted to strengthen his chances for survival it was necessary.

Packing the most vital objects with him, including Ruby's little chess set, the rhinoceros was slowly pulling his cart away from the place that he had called home for so long in search of someplace more secure.

**Author's Note: I don't own the show.**

Thank you for reading!


	2. Ch 2: Coming of the Fuzors: Part 1

Ch 2 – Coming of the Fuzors: Part One

The rush to find and gather the stasis pods that fell to Earth when the Vok began their attack on the planet had sent both sides into a frenzy. While Ruby left Rhinox, Rattrap, Cheetor, Airazor and Tigatron to it, the Transmetal flying squirrel silently followed Dinobot as he slowly trekked his way across the landscape toward the Darkside. Honestly she wanted to go with the others and say good-bye before Tigatron and Airazor left on their scouting mission of the planet but she felt that she had to make sure Dinobot remained unharmed.

Crouching down to hide among the rocks, Dinobot, in beast mode, was observing Megatron and Inferno leaving the Predacon base and the single moon in the night sky, Ruby, in her own beast mode, was hoping that the signature dampening device she had been working on for nearly a mega-solar cycle would be successful in keeping her hidden. The fact that Dinobot had not detected her yet bode well. Taking a moment herself to gaze up at the single beautiful glowing orb in the sky, she was caught unaware as a defense turret came online and began to shoot at Dinobot. Ruby barely had time to duck down as the saurian based fighter dove for cover very close to her. Hiding in the shadow of the rocks, she watched as the Velociraptor shielded his head from the falling debris caused by the blasts. When it was safe and he began to look around she swore he had seen her when he did a double take. Staying as still as possible she watched as he stalked closer to her. It took everything to not breathe a sigh of relief when he paused before a bubbling mud pit, transformed, waded into the muck, and began to splatter the substance onto himself. Now completely covered in mud Dinobot slowly crept out of his hiding spot.

Creeping out from her hiding spot, she watched carefully as he moved with a patience that belied his temperament as the turret swept the area. Ruby realized that she had exposed herself too much when the turret was facing her now. Staring down the twin barrels of the gun she waited for it to strike but as it began to move again in its sweep she closed her eyes and thanked the All Spark that her signal dampening device worked.

Quick steps regressing away from her and towards the turret drew her attention back to the other Maximal. Dinobot was using the mud to cover his own signature, making his way to stand right before the weapon. The Transmetal flying squirrel had to smile as Dinobot gave a battle cry and destroyed the threat with one blow, he had solved the problem she had been contemplating for so long with such a simple solution though she had no real desire to run around covered in mud all the time. With the threat of detection gone she watched as the saurian warrior made his way into the Darkside. Ruby sighed as she curled up a bit beside the pile of rocks she observed from, there was nothing for her to do but wait for his exit from the ship.

* * *

The Vehicon patrols had tripled since Rhinox's last attempt to gather energon. They began to swarm in the tunnels which made his attempt to find a new sheltering place more and more difficult. He knew that being caught was only a matter of time but he intended to prolong it for as long as possible. Having to hide from passing patrols made his journey slower than he wished, but the lone Maximal bid his time. Rushing about rarely did any good and usually was only a waste of energon and time.

As he continued, Rhinox found himself deeper and deeper into the older parts of Cybertron. Idly noting that the area was slowly succumbing to the eons of neglect he was unprepared as the walkway he had been traversing on gave way. With a yell of surprise, the aged rhinoceros and the cart he had been pulling behind him fell into the darkness below.

Coming to an unknown amount of time later, Rhinox groaned as he gained his quadruped feet, giving a hiss as pain shot through his right hind leg. Resting on his left hand side, Rhinox knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything for a while. "Computer, begin repair cycle."

"Repair cycle commencing," the male Maximal computer voice acknowledged. As his internal systems began their work Rhinox waited, trying to glean what he could in the darkness that surrounded him.

* * *

With how fast Dinobot ran out of the Predacon base Ruby had her work cut out for her to not only try to keep up with him, but to remain undetected. She for one was glad that he was heading back to Maximal territory; not finding hiding on Predacon ground to be particularly enjoyable. Megatron, her Megatron, could be lurking anywhere in the shadowy landscape, waiting to strike out at the one who foiled his schemes the most.

A storm had begun move over them as she watched the saurian based fighter rush up the rocks that had formed a natural, but steep, staircase and she gave a deep sigh. Rushing to stay with him had been hard enough, but now he had to go mountain climbing! With a curt nod she followed as quietly as she could, leery of being so high up while lighting and thunder began to crash around her. Carefully picking her place she watched as Dinobot looked over his prize.

"To be," he finally snarled after what seemed to be hours of pacing, "or not to be: that is the question. These disks I hold; are they are a record of what _will_ be or only of what _may_? For if the future is indeed immutably foretold; then my demise is but _moments_ from that conformation for I… _I_ could not live if not the master of my fate."

Ruby carefully peeked out at him from around her rock; watching him pace and contemplate the Golden Disks in his hands. Her spark ached for him, for his confusion, for the hard and painful choices he would be facing.

"But …_if_ the future can be changed, as _her_ very existence here suggests, if these disks record merely one path of all the myriad ways the cosmos might conform, then their power is infinite and _yet_ still limited for they can be used but _once_, and in that change be rendered fiction forever more."

The storm around them seemed to feed off of or feel the same way Dinobot did at the moment, making her cower a bit as a bolt struck as he yelled up to the sky above. "I could _destroy_ them," Dinobot held the disks above his head as if offering for the savage skies above to do so for him, "but… no, t'would be a coward's answer. I will note the truth instead, _then_ t'will be either them… or me… that face oblivion." Marching over to one of the lose rocks on the mountain top, Dinobot lifted it with ease with one hand and placed one of the disks under it with the other. "Until then," he let the rock drop down.

Ruby eased behind her hiding rock as Dinobot passed by her, ducking a bit further behind it when he stopped and seemed to glance over his shoulder in her direction before simply starting down the stone steps. Counting to one hundred first, the Transmetal flying squirrel scurried out of her hiding place over to where Dinobot dropped the disk. There was nothing to keep Megatron from retrieving it and giving it back to himself here, especially if he knew where Dinobot would hide it. It was just too risky to leave where it was.

Quietly transforming, Ruby had to use both hands and quite a bit of force to even lift the rock up. With it tilted up enough to reach it, she discovered another problem. How could she get the disk out if she was putting all of her effort into lifting the rock? Trying to look around her arm and the rock, Ruby frowned a bit and rolled her optics. She really needed to think this stuff through more thoroughly first before diving into it head on. Putting all her weight on her left foot, Ruby tried to nudge the disk out from its hiding place with her right. The stupid thing was heavier than she thought it would be and took several kicks and nudging her toes under it to flip it out before the rock fell lose from her hands with a loud thud.

The disk rolled a bit on its edge before dropping to the side. Letting out a cycle of air from her systems Ruby marched over to the disk and picked it up, having to use both hands to do so, and looked it over. Thanks to working so much with humans she had learned a language or two. The writing was in English, 'The Sounds of Earth' inscribed in the center rings of the disk. "So how am I going to get you back to the base in a timely manner?"

Her only choice was to fly, but there was no way to hold it while doing so. It was just an idle thought that came to mind, but it was her best, and possibly only, option. Going into beast mode Ruby utilized her rodent form's natural 'pockets'. The way a squirrel's cheeks expanded so that they could carry food for long distances and still utilize their paws was the perfect plan, and even Ruby herself was surprised at how easily the disk fit. Sure, she probably looked silly with her cheeks in an unmistakable disk like shape and the thing tasted absolutely awful, but there was no going back.

With a running leap, Ruby dove off of the edge of the mountain top and began to glide before parts of the top of her patagium folded up to expose little rocket motors that actually let her fly. Between the storm's wind currents and the resistance the disk in her cheeks gave, she had quite a wild and non-too-straight flight back to the Axalon.

* * *

Megatron growled as he looked down upon the Maximal's ship. Carefully watching whom all came and went was giving him his best estimate of exactly when he could strike. He had to laugh to himself as Cheetor had taken off from the base without even looking in his direction. Soon Rattrap and Dinobot would join the Transmetal feline in their pathetic attempt to keep his forces from destroying them. While they all played around the tarnished dragon would strike at the very heart of the Maximals, not only taking out their base of operations but killing Rhinox and preventing the return of Optimus Primal.

He had to growl as that traitor, Dinobot, came into view. Glaring down at him, Megatron saw exactly what he carried. The golden disk the aliens had left on the planet. "My, my, you have been busy Dinobot, yeess. You left for my base sooner that I had originally thought, stolen my prizes right from under me, and now return home with your prize. Of course this means that I can't destroy the Maximal base but," the dragon gave a helpless shrug, "two out of three is acceptable in this case, yeess."

As Dinobot entered the ship, Megatron turned to climb down from his perch and begin the walk around to the back of the ship. A fireball to the ship's engines, the loss of power, and not only will he disrupt the undoubtedly delicate process Rhinox had done to pull Optimus Primal back from the All Spark, but he would not even risk being seen by his past self in the process.

* * *

Rattrap, for one, sorely missed Optimus. The Boss Monkey hadn't been scrapped for two solar cycles and things already felt like they were falling apart. Rhinox had left him in charge of everything while he did a mind trip into whatever he went looking for and it seemed to the Transmetal rat that the only one that would ever listen to him was Cheetor. The kid had the enthusiasm, but for some reason it came across to Rattrap that the cat was lacking a few data cells when he got his upgrade.

Tigatron and Airazor had left to go hunting for more stasis pods, the pair better suited for the job than the rest of them wanted to admit. There was also the attraction the two seemed to have been developing since that flying island incident. '_Fine, let the two lovers have their time,' _Rattrap thought to himself, 'a_nd speaking of 'Lovers', where the Pit did Dinobot and Ruby run off to?!'_

The last thing he wanted to admit was that Dinobot actually won that battle, having Ruby chose the former Predacon over him, but the facts were hard to ignore. The pair had just disappeared before the rest of them even left the ship to check for downed stasis pods and only Primus knew where they were at now and what exactly they were doing.

Rattrap sighed. "Useta be de dames came ta me," he told the practically comatose Rhinox, "I think I'm losin' my touch." His lamenting came to an abrupt halt when the communication station behind him crackled to life.

"_This is Cheetor, code one emergency"_ the scout's voice shouted of out the speaker, making Rattrap rush to the console.

"Oh sure, like things weren't bad enough," the rodent quipped as he dropped his head, "Well, whatta ya done now?"

"_Ran into a Pred-nest in Delta quadrant,"_ Cheetor began to report, _"Couple of new nasties plus Megs himself. They're on my tail!"_

Great! This was _exactly_ what Rattrap wanted to hear._ Not!_ "Oh, pussycat you really know how to tickle my joystick…" he mumbled under his breath, "Ok! We'll lay out the welcome mat!" After preparing the defenses, he rushed over to the only other one in the base, knowing that they would need that huge brain of Rhinox's to save them once again from the sharp teeth of defeat. "Yo! Rhinox, sorry ta interrupt yer nap, but… uh…"

The computer interrupted what he was going to say with its dire warning. "Danger. Unit Rhinox's core consciousness has extended beyond measurable limits. Any disturbance will result in permanent loss of spark."

If it wouldn't have disturbed it, Rattrap would have beaten his head into the device that Rhinox was currently strapped to. "Oh sure, now there's some great timin' for ya." The lift opening up behind him drew his attention away from the engineer.

"What is happening?" Dinobot demanded, emphasizing with his right hand to draw attention away from his left as he hid the golden disk behind is back, "Sentinel is on alert."

"Hey, Chopper face," Rattrap was elated to see the former Predacon and see him alone, but cleared his throat to attempt to give a sterner tone as if asserting his authority. "Hey, where you been? Out savin' the universe or somethin'? And where's Ruby?"

"Possibly, yes," Dinobot growled a bit as he stepped closer to the much smaller Maximal as he answered the first two questions. With a press of a button on his torso the saurian warrior activated the stash of weapons he kept on hand on the bridge, the compartment lowering between him and the rodent. As it was doing so he answered the last question shot at him by the smelly commander-in-charge, "Ruby was not _with _me." It was true, Dinobot had not directly seen her, his scanners not detected her, but he could feel her nearby as if watching him. Normally he would have been upset if any of the others were spying on him, especially Rattrap, but given the nature of her personal mission he found it slightly endearing that she would try to protect him. He would have laughed at the idea of such a tiny female protecting _him_ but doing so would no doubt give the rodent before him the wrong impression.

By Rattrap's tone there was something serious going on and heavy weaponry would quite possibly be needed. On the other hand with Rattrap there Dinobot was not able to head directly to his quarters to hide the Golden Disk so he would utilize the space that Primal had given him to do so. With the weapon's rack as a safety divider Dinobot peeked around the edge at the rodent in the room. "Now, what is the emergency?" Back behind the bizarre curtain he placed the disk high up and began to grab what weapons he thought would be necessary as Rattrap updated him.

"Oh! Well, nuthin' much," the rodent whined, "Let's see! Rhinox is off chasing comets with his mind, 'nd uh, Cheetor's bringin' a squad of Pred's home ta play. Of course, if dey hit dis place, uh, Big Green here goes permanently offline."

The thicker Rattrap laid on the trouble the bigger the guns and ammunition Dinobot grabbed. After strapping on two strips of ammunition, two blasters on his hips, and holding an impressive BFG he grabbed another blaster from his stash and let the storage compartment lift back into the ceiling. "Well then, we must take the fight to the enemy."

Rattrap lightly caught the gun Dinobot tossed at him and chambered it into activity with a smirk before joining the much larger Maximal on the lift. As soon as it touched down the Transmetal rodent leapt free of the platform, transforming into his beast mode before gaining his wheels and taking off, kicking up a bunch of rocks and dirt aimed right at Dinobot, aggravating the Maximal at the amount of disrespect the rodent still showed him. With a growl Dinobot ran on foot after Rattrap. The plan was simple; keep Megatron and his followers from getting to the Axalon until Rhinox returned from his dream walk. The one thought in the back of his processor was that he hoped Ruby was safe in whatever she was doing.

* * *

Ruby clung to the side of the Axalon as she attempted to open her window. It was really no small feat with the weighty disk still tucked into the pockets of her cheeks making her head want to fall backwards with gravity and pull her from the metallic structure she clung to. As the window finally pushed to the side the Transmetal squirrel pulled herself up more to just let her front half flop onto the window sill, the Golden Disk's weight doing most of the effort for her on that part. Unfortunately her rear half still stuck out of the window and she couldn't spit out the disk how she was.

Grunting, she kicked her hind legs up to try to grip the opening to try and push herself in, failing and flailing more than she really thought she should have. She swore she could hear laughter over her plight, but continued her struggle despite feeling absolutely mortified over the whole debacle. With one last grunt her hind claws gripped the opening and she pulled her back half up.

Overbalanced and unable to correct herself before she fell tail over head, Ruby grunted as she landed on her back. A quick scramble to her stomach she pulled the disk free from the pockets of her cheeks and shivered. The thing still tasted like mud and she wasn't sure how many scrubs it would take to get the taste out of her mouth. A quick shift to her bi-ped mode and Ruby managed to shove the disk into one of the compartments underneath her sleeping berth. Now it was just to find out where the others were and what was happening.

Exiting her room, the oddest member of the Maximal's crew quickly and calmly made her way to the bridge. The lift motor had just finished its cycle as she took in Rhinox laying on some odd contraption in the middle of the command center, the cables from the device that ran down the hallway beginning to emit a strange purple floating light. Ruby suddenly felt gut punched. _This_ was happening _now_?

Her Grand-sparker was searching for Optimus Primal's spark in the Matrix. This was one of the most critical times that she swore she was never going to leave his side on when she arrived all those deca-lunar cycles ago. This one event that made Rhinox the most venerable. Sentinel's alert to its area scan drew her attention to the screen. With a rush she ran over to the station and took in the image on the screen. There was that odd blip, the one that kept showing up when Megatron got too close to the Axalon, that appeared near the rear of the ship. It didn't surprise her that the systems detected him easier now since they had been calibrated to pick up the Transmetal shift with the Cybertronian systems, though his Transmetal-II state still confused the computer.

She refused to let the fear that gripped her spark seize her as she ran to the back of the ship. Megatron didn't intend to go after Dinobot today as he went to retrieve the golden disks from the Darkside. Why should he have? He would have known where the former Predacon would have hidden them away and could fetch them at any time. No, her enemy had the most heinous plan that would devastate the Maximals the most. While Dinobot, Rattrap, and Cheetor were busy keeping the Predacons at bay and Airazor and Tigatron were scouting the changes of the planet the Megatron from the future was going to attack the Axalon, killing Rhinox and preventing the return of Optimus Primal. A triple blow to the Maximal cause in this war and a guarantee win for the Predacons.

Even if he had gone to a point where Primal would be able to return, Ruby wasn't sure that she would survive past his spark loss to continue to aid the others in his absence. Her Grand-sparker had as much to do with the survival of the Maximals as the rest of them.

As she accessed turrets on the back of the ship to open them up and access the roof she did her best to shake off the fear. There was no what if to this battle before her. She had to succeed or they all died.

**Author's Note: I don't own the show.**

Anyone see Anonymous-BW FanGirl in the last couple of months? She's been very quiet and I'll admit it has me a bit worried.


	3. Ch 3: Coming of the Fuzors: Part 2

Ruby, in beast mode, scrambled onto the top of the Axalon through the tight squeeze that the turret afforded her. A quick glance around spied her a view she would never forget. From the roof of the bridge the same strange purple light that was bleeding from the cables inside the base now began to swirl and stretch into the sky above as the last remains of the storm clouds began to slowly swim away. Off in the distance she could barely make out the gathering of her comrades as they faced off against Megatron and his horde, a violent explosion marking the beginning of that battle. There wasn't much time.

Running at full speed across the top in the direction that Sentinel had detected Megatron, Ruby had to skid to a halt before running off the edge of the ship. Megatron had crested around the bottom side of the cliff-face that ran around the rear of the Axalon, having utilized the river below. Seeing the vicious smile cross his muzzle Ruby shook in anger. Crawling onto the flat ground, the tarnished dragon prepared to let loose a massive fireball aimed directly at the engine compartment of the ship. Giving a battle cry Ruby leapt off of the ship, activating her rockets, and gave a powerful swoop aimed right at the underside of his chin.

"Yeeeehawwww!" echoed around the rocks, making the tyrant hesitate on his attack right before something powerful slammed into his jaw from below, sending his head flying backwards and the fireball into the air as he gave a shout of pain. Shaking his head clear, Megatron twisted his powerful neck to focus on the dark silver mass that turned back towards him. Quickly focusing on the incoming shape, Megatron's eyes narrowed darkly at his foe's upgrade.

"Foolish, Maximal," he sneered, stomping closer to her as she landed on one of the peaks, "You cannot stop me!"

"Wanna bet?"

Megatron snapped out a fireball at close range, but Ruby black flipped out of the way as it hit the stone she was just perched on, transforming into robot mode in the process. Landing with a smirk Ruby activated her wrist weaponry and aimed at the dragon as he approached her, but her smirk died as her optics focused on her hands. Instead of her wrist mounted chain guns popping up and surrounding her closed fists, a weapon design dear to her spark, she was stunned to find two laser guns mounted on the top sides of each hand.

"What the…?" she mumbled, moving one up to look at it. This was not her weapon of choice. Out of the corner of her optic she noticed Megatron aiming at her again and dove behind a pile of rocks just before another fireball struck. "Slag!" she yelled, ducking some at the explosion next to her, "what a cheap upgrade!"

* * *

Dinobot crouched behind the cluster of rocks he, Rattrap, and Cheetor sheltered behind as they attempted to hold the Predacon forces as he changed out the ammunition clip. Cheetor and Rattrap joined him for the moment as Rattrap, the current Maximal leader, took the opportunity to look back at the base. The purple light extending from the top of the base was new, but given the experiment Rhinox had been doing it was not unexpected. What made Cheetor and Rattrap's jaws drop was the huge ball of fire that shot diagonally from the area.

"What was that?!" Cheetor exclaimed.

"Megatron's sent someone to attack the base," Rattrap swore, but peeked out from around the rock to spy on the Predacons while they seemed to be speaking amongst themselves. Apparently Megatron was having issues with one of his new recruits, the purple tyrant leaning over the oddly formed Pred as it cowered behind a wing while the others watched. "I count six Preds," he informed his companions, "de She-spider is missing 'nd there hasn't been an account of Scorponok 'nTerrorsaur since de alien planet buster."

Dinobot, who had been watching the skyline since the fireball appeared, zoomed his focus in on the area above the base as he saw something dark flying across the skyline. "It appears that Ruby has the attack at the base under control."

With a quick check of the skyline, Rattrap conceded the fact that Ruby was there and that Dinobot was not trying to distract them from a possible double cross. "Good girl," the rodent smiled, "we need ta try ta keep de rest of the Preds here and off 'er back." As the Predacons renewed their attacks, the three Maximals returned to their defensive positions.

* * *

Megatron was currently pondering the odd behavior of the mad scientist in his midst, the arachnid speaking out loud to himself with apparently an invisible someone answering. Had the spider's processor finally snapped when the transwarp wave hit him? His ponderings were interrupted by one of his newest recruits.

"These Maximals are fools," Silverbolt stated, quite confused. "We flank their position. They should retreat, but still they fight."

"Ah, the Maximals are many things, but fools they are not." The tyrant admitted to the noble Predacon, but as he turned to look at their targets the most loyal of his following ran up to him.

"Royalty!" Inferno interrupted, the ant based fighter pointing to the skyline behind the Maximals as fireball exploded on the rocks near the Axalon.

Megatron frowned as he spotted both the explosion and the twin purple beams of light heading towards the sky. It appeared that Rhinox was attempting something, leaving three of the Maximals to try to hold off all of his remaining Predacon forces. But who was fighting near their base? Was Tarantulas staging a take-over of the Axalon while they were fighting? That would explain why Black Arachnia was not with them, but not the lack of radio transmissions for the two to be communicating.

Never the less, there was work to be done.

"They're trying to prevent us from reaching their base," he exclaimed, "Waspinator, Silverbolt, take to the air and circle wide. Converge on the Maximal base, and hurry!"

The two Pred fliers transformed quickly, taking wing. The pair dive bombed over the Maximals, making the three duck behind their small cropping of rocks.

"Uh, oh," Cheetor mumbled.

Dinobot growled, "Megatron has deduced our strategy, such as it was."

"Yeah?" Rattrap started a bit sarcastically, "well, we need a new one and pronto. If dose two make it to de base before we do Rhinox is one dead battery."

"Ruby is a capable warrior," Dinobot snarled a bit, "but I would not want to risk her being overtaken."

* * *

Despite them not being her weapons of choice, Ruby knew she couldn't waste time sulking. With a shout she jumped out from behind her cover and began to fire at Megatron. He had turned his back to her, his aim focused back on the ship, and ended up taking several shots from her wrist guns, the shots alternating between the two tiny guns as they recoiled after each shot.

Megatron shouted in pain and anger as they struck and turned his head to aim at her again. Ruby stopped her assault and transformed, taking to the sky again to gain the high ground. As soon as she landed on the rocky ledge that surrounded the base she had to dive down to avoid another fireball thrown her way. Transforming back to her bi-pedal mode, the flying squirrel reached into her subspace pocket to pull out Megatron's tail missile launcher that she had utilized before, but was taken by surprised when she pulled out a brand new weapon. It was covered in patches of metallic fur, had two handles to grip it, one on the back which held the trigger and one on the top towards the middle front, but apparently her upgrade had merged the weapon she had stolen from Megatron with her wrist design giving her a massive gatling gun hidden as her tail in beast mode.

"Sweet!" she cried, aimed it down at Megatron, and opened fire.

He was not prepared for the massive hail of bullets raining down on him, making him pull his left wing over to cover his head. With a roar of anger he prepared to shoot another fireball at her, but stopped as he spotted Cheetor flying at full speed towards the base. Aiming his head up, Megatron built up the fire in his throat, preparing to unleash it into the Axalon itself, but before he could succeed with that he grunted as he felt someone land on his head and a hot multi-barreled gun pressing against the very spot where the figure was standing.

"Swallow it, Meggsie," Ruby told him darkly.

As Sentinel came online at Cheetor's request, the rear guns on the back of the ship opened up and began to fire on Megatron. With a shout of frustration the dragon bucked his head back, throwing Ruby off with a powerful toss and began to scramble towards the river that ran along the base. He had to escape before the Maximal scout spotted him.

The time traveling Maximal hit the rock wall harshly, falling to the ground below along with a shower of boulders that had come loose with their battle. With a slow grunt Ruby pulled herself free and gained her feet again, stumbling a few steps at the damage she had received from the battle and the rocks that had landed on her, shouldering her new favorite weapon as she watched the dragon scramble away like a roach, shaking her head slowly at the poor sight of the retreating Predacon. "Check," she mumbled and began to limp towards the front of the base.

She reached the front of the ship in time to see Dinobot and Rattrap pull up, the saurian warrior having ridden the Transmetal rodent from the site of their original skirmish. Waiting as they discussed amongst themselves, Ruby called for the lift to lower and leaned against one of the lift arms on the platform. Sitting on the ground, injured from the auto-defense guns, Silverbolt waited for the execution he rightfully deserved for attacking the Maximals, but was surprised when the punishment never came.

When the boys made their way over she straightened up, putting her gatling gun away in her subspace pocket as she watched Dinobot carry Silverbolt over, the trio having to wait for Sentinel to scan the noble fighter into its systems before the lift moved. Despite his armload, Dinobot tried to look over the tiny femme before him.

"Are you," he paused to snarl, "alright?"

Ruby smiled brightly at him, despite the dents and scorch marks covering her, "A bit dinged up but otherwise fine. You?"

Silverbolt heard and felt their sincere concern for each other, had seen it with the others as well. They were rough around the edges, especially with each other, but there was an honest friendship between them despite the stressful situation. There was also the fact that they did not destroy him when they had every right to do so. It was a war they were in and yet they showed mercy. He would speak with the Maximal leader when he gained the opportunity to do so.

Ruby paused to look at the huge bot that was lying on a strange table in the middle of the command room as Dinobot continued over to the CR chamber. Rattrap had followed them up and Silverbolt saw the rodent based fighter gently pat the female on the arm before the repair chamber door closed.

Ruby was stuck. Her pump was pulsing harshly in her torso as she stared at Rhinox, his head jerking from side to side, his hands twitching on the controls as he lay there. She found herself unable to move as Rattrap walked up to the engineer's side to wake him up. As Dinobot walked up to her she felt him lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Should I prepare the second CR chamber for you?" the former Predacon inquired.

Her optics were still locked onto her Grand-sparker as the device, with assistance from an impatient Rattrap, lifted him up, seemingly fine if not a bit dazed from his travel. At his question Ruby looked up at Dinobot, "I'm alright."

Nodding to her, the towering Maximal walked over to the CR chamber controls and began the repairs to Silverbolt. Ruby stepped closer to Rattrap and Rhinox as they spoke.

"Where'ja go anyway?" the infiltrator asked, still hanging from the top of the machine.

"Where… all are one," Rhinox answered, saying an old phrase that made Ruby smile.

"Oh 'where all are…'" Rattrap caught exactly what he was saying and shot a surprised, but non-too happy look at his oldest friend, "What?!"

The base shaking from the incoming Predacon attack cut Ruby's giggles short and drew the rest of them back to the situation at hand: the Predacon army outside of their door.

"I'll explain later," Rhinox promised. "Let's just hope my trans-ion trail lasts long enough."

The scream of incoming missiles gave way to their strike on the shields before Cheetor interrupted their conversation as a whole with his impending message. "We've got a full scale Pred attack and the shields are failing."

"Oh great," Rattrap whined, "We're all gonna die."

"It happens," Rhionx stated bluntly, grabbing the chain gun that rested at his side and cocking it as Dinobot joined them, "but miracles happen, too. Let's go."

With their weapons ready, the four Maximals split themselves between the two lifts to exit the ship. Ruby stood with Rhinox who was glancing down at her with a bit of concern. Blinking up at him, she tried to smile as she shifted her hands on her huge weapon. "What's wrong?"

He wanted to say that he didn't want her to join the battle until she had logged a few deca-cycles in the CR chamber with how dinged up she was but stopped short when quickly realized that it was most likely from a battle that kept him alive. Rhinox knew that she would not stay behind when the rest of them were fighting, even if he ordered her to do so. He was glad to see her victorious, but not at the toll it was costing her. Then there was her latest toy, but seeing how comfortable she looked with the daunting weapon, Rhinox had to smile at his little grand-sparkling. "Not a thing, my little one. Not a thing."

The lift stopped and the pair rushed to join the others as they set up behind another group of rocks that would give them some sort of protection. Each strike from a Predacon projectile shuttered the shields, weakening them with each strike; while one of the 'miracles' Rhinox was known for happened inside of the ship.

As the protective energy shattered around them the Maximals braced themselves for the fight of their lives, bringing up their readied weapons.

"It's us and the Preds now," Rhionx said grimly.

"You know my vote," Cheetor replied, nudging the larger Maximal with his elbow before he began to fire on the Predacons. The others quickly followed suit, giving everything they had and more before they all slowly ran out of ammunition. Ruby looked down in disbelief as her new favorite toy painfully grinded to a halt from lack of ammo. "You've gotta be kiddin' me…"

With their inability to fight back the Maximals were sitting ducks behind their rocks. As the Preds began to unleash their full attack Rhinox grabbed Ruby, pulling her to safety and covering her with his own form, one hand shielding the temporal device on her chest. The tiny Maximal femme curled up tightly to her Grand-sparker, fully understanding what damage she could sustain in this attack and what exactly it could cost her. The others would survive this day but there was no guarantee that she would as well.

As the morning began to break over the far ridge, the Maximals took stock of their situation. Rhinox had pushed Ruby behind him, taking the brunt of the attack for her. Looking over at his little grand-sparkling he tried to smile despite the grim words he and Dinobot had spoken only moments before. As her shaking hand reached out to touch the hole that had been blown through his torso, Rhinox saw the uncertainty in her optics as she struggled against panicking, as if she had expected something else to have happened.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking back up into his optics, "I failed…"

* * *

Rhinox opened his eyes to the darkness as Ruby's distant voice echoed around him, the sadness in her optics as she believed the worst of the situation. Her surprise was as genuine as his own at that moment when Optimus Primal burst through the side wall of the Axalon, saving them right before Megatron succeeded in off-lining them all. The Predacons didn't stand a chance as a rejuvenated Primal joined the fray, fighting an enemy worn from their overnight battle. Silverbolt joined in at the right time, sending Megatron failing and falling into the ravine below.

"You didn't fail," the rhinoceros whispered in the dark, grunting as he pulled himself up onto his four feet, "but if I give up, then I've failed you." Quietly he transformed into his robot mode and dug an energon torch from the mess that was his cart. Activating it, Rhinox held it high to illuminate as much of his surroundings as he possibly could.

Somehow he had managed to land inside of a massive laboratory, the equipment size reminding him of working on the Autobot ship the Ark. Leaping down to the ground with a grunt the Maximal engineer made his way around to look at the ancient systems that had been dormant since most likely the time of the great exodus of the Autobots and the Decepticons from Cybertron.

Suddenly he paused in mid step as he realized that it could be a Decepticon laboratory as well. Until he knew for sure he would tread carefully so as to not set off any booby-traps. Despite whom the previous owner of the space might have been Rhinox was determined to make the best of it as he possibly could.

After pulling himself onto the top of one of the consoles, Rhinox knelt down to brush away some of the dust and rust that had accumulated over the surface. Once the area was clean enough to view he brought the torch closer to examine the emblem. The words and symbol engraved on the console were Autobot. He had to smile as relief settled into his frame. Of all the places he could have fallen into, the countless places on the planet to hide, Rhinox found himself in Wheeljack's laboratory.

* * *

Megatron fumed as he slowly made his way through the dark to the mountain top that he recalled Dinobot hiding the Golden Disk he had stolen from him. After all the deca-lunar cycles of planning and waiting to steal the relic in the first place it absolutely gulled him to have Dinobot, one of the main factors for him having the disk in the first place, take it right from under his nose.

In the pale light of the full moon Megatron lifted the stone he recalled Dinobot walking over to to retrieve his property. Instead of finding a gold circle reflecting the moon's glow the dragon only found dirt. Maybe it was under another rock, but despite lifting all the rocks in the area there was no glittering prize to be found.

Slow realization hit him as he dropped the last stone he had lifted. That little Maximal witch stole the Golden Disk from Dinobot! Anger boiled up inside of him until he let it out in a fiery display as she yet again thwarted him.

"It is time for our game to end, Ruby," Megatron vowed darkly as he slowly made his way down the mountain side, "yeess."

**Author's note: I do not own the show.**


	4. New: Ch 4: Pale Moonlight

In the middle of the night on the Darkside, Megatron, sitting alone in the gloom of his room that was lit from the moonlight and lava glow from the window behind his chair, frowned at the screen before him. All the plans he had made, the depths at which he had sunk to make it this far, he was not going to let a little setback like the theft of his Golden Disks stop him. He could recall the information he had accessed on the disk he had stolen, but there was still information on it that he needed access to in order to proceed with his agenda. The Predacon leader had locked himself in his room for several nights after the theft so that he could focus on what he needed to have completed to prevent the inevitable if he should fail. It left the rest of his crew relatively unmonitored during these hours, but fortunately the Maximals were as busy cleaning up and scouting the planet after the alien attack as he was. There were also other factors that he had to consider as well.

After some thought on the matter the Predacon tyrant knew that Tarantulas was most likely behind the failed mission of the energon depot. No doubt the back stabbing spider had decided that it would make a satisfactory new lair and did everything he could to make sure that all the others thought it was a total loss. Megatron was rather surprised that Black Arachnia had not stayed with Tarantulas, but knowing how cruel the male spider could be Megatron didn't doubt that she had weighed her options between the pair of them and found Tarantulas lacking. There was also the fact that she was hiding something from all of them. She had too much solo time to access Megatron's personal data tracks, and he would bet that she covered her own tracks after the fact. It didn't matter, no. Despite all of the spiders' scheming it all turned to Megatron's favor eventually. At least it always had up to this point.

The loss of Silverbolt to the Maximals, despite the decrease of his number of troops, was not a real loss to him. The noble streak running through the Fuzor would only serve to irritate Megatron further and he was better off with letting Optimus Primal deal with it. There were plenty of Predacons with personality malfunctions on his team to begin with.

It was the return of Optimus Primal that had Megatron fuming the most in the past few solar cycles. The Maximal leader was destroyed in the process of ending the alien's attack on the planet, a noble sacrifice that Megatron made sure he endured. His parts were even still decorating space. No, this was the work of Rhinox, Megatron knew it. It was more the fact that it was simply something that the Maximal brain would do more than the fact that he was absent from the battle.

His frown deepened as Megatron thrummed his fingers over the arm of his chair. Tigatron, Airazor and Ruby were also missing from the battle. Scouting reports had informed him that the first two were off trekking the world, but Ruby was usually in most of the frays that happened between Predacons and Maximals, except for a small handful that he could recall; a small amount during possibly the most critical battles for the Maximals' survival.

First was when he had stolen the rectifier coil from the Axalon, forcing the Maximals to stay in their beast modes. All of his troops and prey had been accounted for after the fact, save Ruby. There was proof that there had been a battle near the Axalon, several clicks from any Predacon location, and questioning his troops later confirmed the fact that Ruby had been missing from their skirmish.

Not only was she missing from the first initial battle after Primal's destruction, but there was again another strange fire fight near the Axalon. While Inferno was his only other witness to the fact, there was no doubt to what the insane insect had seen. The only one that was known for using fire in his attacks stood next to Megatron as they observed the fire blast striking the rocky ridge around the Maximal's ship.

"What is it that you know, Ruby?" Megatron asked as he brought up the latest image of his current interest. "Avoiding very key battles, especially when Primal needs all the hands he could utilize. You also keep yourself very contained, my dear, which I will admit spikes my curiosity. You are a wild card and I do not like wild cards in my deck, nooo."

* * *

Megatron glared up at the half moon above him, his mind grinding over his current situation. The tarnished dragon had found yet another cave to call a shelter as he ran over his previous plans in his head. Time was running out and he swore that the Beast Wars would either end in his victory or his destruction.

Ruby taking the Golden Disk from Dinobot threw a real wrench into everything. If he only had the opportunity to return the disk to his past self then Megatron could proceed with his original plans with destroying Optimus Prime. Unfortunately, the back-up of the access codes to the Ark were now in Black Arachnia's head. It had taken taking over Optimal Optimus to gain access the access to the Ark that gained Megatron the form he currently had. There was no action that his old self had planned that would give him an opportunity for a win, not anytime soon. He would have to wait until Dinobot gave it back to him, as it had originally happened, because surely the time-travelling little pest would not risk not having the disk back before that time came.

Perking his head up, the dragon smiled darkly in the gloom of the night as a cloud passed over the half moon above. No, it was nothing _he_ had planned that would work in his favor but the Vok's next move would be a vital blow to the Maximals.

There were still quite a few solar cycles before those events came to pass, but he would be ready. No doubt Ruby would be as well.

* * *

In the single light from her desk lamp, Ruby examined the Golden Disk that rested on her desk. Reading once more the lettering inscribed in the center of it she had to smile, privately pleased that she had accepted the Earth Language lessons. Having already gleaned the data she would need later from the artifact, she quite enjoyed gently running her finger over the ridges that spiraled around the face of the record, listening to the greeting in all of the Earth languages at the time of its creation. Oh, if only she could tell Cirus about this.

That thought made her frown as she pulled away from her desk. She learned a lot from her dear human friend in their all too short time together, but the most important lesson he had taught her was to cherish every moment with those close to you because their time with you could not be forever. "The heart does not let you choose who it loves," he had told her one night, "nor does it let you choose how much it loves whom."

When Cirus passed she stood watch at his casket during the memorial on Cybertron and had accompanied his body back to Earth. His human family, by that time had been his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, had greeted her but otherwise ignored her at the funeral. When it was over she returned back home and returned to her duties, mourning his loss in silence.

Gaining her feet Ruby hid her treasure once more before she made her way over the figurines that were sitting on a shelf above the others that rested in their places on the chess board, out of the way as they dried. The rush after the Vok's attack left things a bit crazy so she did not have time to make Silverbolt and Quickstrike's figurines for her chess set until now. Satisfied with how well they turned out she walked over to the window, opening it to let in the night breeze. Something didn't feel right outside so Ruby transformed into her beast mode as she leapt out of the window. Gliding into the air, she caught the wind current from the waterfall and used it to quietly gain altitude to circle around the base.

A lone figure stood at the top of one of the high peaks surrounding the base looking out towards the enemy base, its only illumination was the single half moon above. Recognizing the size and armor with her nocturnal gift from her beast mode, Ruby made sure that Dinobot saw her clearly by gliding in front of him before circling around to land nearby.

The saurian warrior's thoughts were interrupted as the Transmetal flying squirrel passed his view, his processor having been focused on the events that had led them all to their current situation with the Beast Wars and where in history he would be remembered. Honestly he was glad she had let him know that she was approaching, with him being lost in thought Dinobot was sure he might have hurt her before he realized that she was friend.

It was a rare sight in the past fortnight since the Vok attack, but as Ruby slowly padded herself onto a boulder next to Dinobot he actually smiled down at her. Silently transforming, she stood quietly at his side as they both looked over the landscape, silent before the pair.

"Do you think anything will grow back?" she whispered.

"Perhaps," Dinobot snarled quietly, "with time."

"Like with all other things."

Silence surrounded them once more as the clouds blocked the light from the moon for a few moments. With how he kept looking at her, Ruby tried to figure out what exactly what was on Dinobot's mind. Eventually the clouds moved away, bathing them both in moonlight.

Focusing down at the tiny femme before him, he had to admire how her new color scheme caught the moonlight; giving her a mysterious glow that only drew him closer. There was also her knowledge, the want to ask her so many questions that continually bounced around in his processor since the day they were stuck in the cave together. A soft snarl preceded his words, "Ruby, can we speak?"

"I thought that's what we were doing," she replied, humor thick in her voice.

Dinobot rolled his optics with a slight shake of his head. A sarcastic reply, definitely some influence from Rattrap. "I meant about the future." He watched the humor fade from her face as she looked back over the landscape.

"You know I can't," she eventually told him, sorrow softening her voice, "I want to, but doing so risks everything. Us having this discussion is a risk. You knowing is a risk." She sighed, rubbing her upper arms.

"Is there anything at all that you could gift me with?" he asked quietly.

She heard the plea in his voice, the need to know that he was doing the right, honorable thing. Looking back up at him she fought the urge to blurt it all out. His future. His sacrifice.

"The choices are yours and yours alone, Dinobot," she began slowly, "Others cannot make them for you." When he looked down at the ground she continued, "but what they say and do can help you choose the right path. Follow your _honor_, Dinobot, and I will support the path _you_ choose."

_My honor_, Dinobot thought with a soft snarl, lifting his head back up, _I fight against my heritage, my Predacon heritage. Are you telling me that I will fight against the Maximals once more? Am I to fight against you? _ He looked down at her, seeing pity in her optics. No, not pity. Understanding. She understood him. She understood more than his pain at having knowledge that could save or enslave them all and not being able to share it, she understood what made him who he was and his spark felt eased with that.

Gently he lifted her chin up with his fingers, smiling at her, "What if I chose you?"

Ruby's processor reeled. '_What if I chose you?' What did he mean by…? Ooooooh!_ "I… um…"

"Is there someone waiting for your return, Ruby?" he asked solemnly, "Someone aside from your Grand-sparker?"

"Sh-should there be?" she asked quietly. _Not fair Uncle Rattrap! All your stories about Dinobot, my crush on him from those stories about how he was such a good honorable bot, and I have to let him die?!_ But she let him pull closer, her spark racing, closing her optics in anticipation of a kiss, melting at the soft purr from him.

Then her communicator went off._ "Silverbolt to Ruby."_

She quickly stepped away from Dinobot, who only just snarled at hearing the voice, and answered, "Ruby here."

"_I'm sorry, my lady, but I grew concerned that you have not shown up to relieve me of monitor duty and was worried for your safety."_

The Transmetal femme had to stifle a giggle as she heard Dinobot grumble something about it being a likely excuse under his breath. "I'll be right there, Silverbolt. Ruby out." Then she passed a bashful smile up at Dinobot, "I… better go."

"Why not ask Rattrap to cover it?" he snarled playfully, recalling the work debt she plunged he and the other rodent into as they both transformed into their beast modes to make their way back to the ship.

"Because he's relieving me in the morning," she replied, smiling at the fact that he was walking at her speed, "and I don't want him falling asleep during it again. Optimus is already upset at him over the last time."

"How kind of you," Dinobot retorted.

"What can I say?" she giggled, "It's my job to take care of all of y'all."

**Author's note: I do not own the show. Thanks for reading.  
**


	5. New: Ch 5: Maximal, No More

Ruby sat at the bridge's scanning station, her screen showing the latest data sent in from Tigatron and Airazor. She enjoyed the small amount of time they had to speak before the transfer completed and the pair had to move on, but she missed her friends dearly and fought with herself about warning them of what was to come. At the command table behind her Rhinox and Optimus had been discussing the most recent additions Megatron had been adding to his territory, mostly the jamming stations, in an odd pattern.

"Jamming towers and energon mining stations," Rhinox informed his friend from the recent scouting mission Cheetor had currently relaying information from, "all looking as if they're randomly placed around his ship."

"Nothing is random with Megatron," Primal stated, giving a thoughtful noise in his throat as he rubbed his chin. It was marching over to the station next to her that gained Ruby's full attention. While Primal brought up a communication between him and Dinobot, the Transmetal femme calmly looked on. "Dinobot, report to the command center immediately. I need you to lead a mission into Predacon ground."

As Primal called to others he wanted for the mission Rhinox watched as Ruby's hands twitched a bit, her shoulders squaring some. It was subtle and he apparently was the only one that caught it, but looking back he had seen her react like that before when it was something familiar to her. He needed to come up with some plausible excuse for her to act without recourse.

Rattrap was the first onto the bridge, followed quickly by Silverbolt. Dinobot was not too far behind. Ruby had turned in her station to listen in on the conversation and smiled a bit when Silverbolt greeted her quite warmly in his usual polite manner. The glare he unknowingly received from both Dinobot and Rattrap almost made her laugh out loud. If they only knew where this white knight's spark truly belonged to they would never have worried over the fact.

"Dinobot, you're in command of the mission. Take Rattrap, Ruby, and Silverbolt and do a full search of the area surrounding the Darkside. Megatron is up to something and I need to know exactly what that is."

_Uh oh,_ Ruby thought to herself, _I've got to get the disk back, but I can't if I'm out in the field._

Rhinox calmly interrupted Primal for a moment, having noticed a slight surge of panic in Ruby's optics, "Actually, Ruby has yet to scout Grid Omega for me today." Grid Omega was the first place the alien destruction beam had struck and had become a scorched stain on the earth.

"That's a slag assignment, Rhinox," Rattrap interjected, "at least let her come with us. It'd make the trip less boring with someone with a brighter disposition than Dinobutt."

Dinobot snarled a bit, ignoring the blatant jab even though Rattrap's thumb had tapped him in the torso plate, and Silverbolt just looked between the two. It confused him as to why Rattrap still treated Dinobot so harshly and seemed kind to him when they were both Predacons turned Maximals. Silverbolt believed that the rodent should have trusted Dinobot more than himself since Dinobot had worked with the Maximals since the beginning of the Beast Wars.

Ruby's shoulders shrank down a bit as she thought. She had been scanning Grid Omega since the day after Primal's return and there had not been much of a change in its landscape, but to continue to do so was of her own reasoning. It was an ideal location to hide, and given the blurps that the scans for the Transmetal II dragon were usually in or around that area she wouldn't have put it past the tyrant to utilize the space as home. As the mission settled into her processor she realized that if she passed up this opportunity she would not have a chance to fix things. "Tell you what," she said as she focused back on Primal as stood up from her chair, "I'll join them as soon as I've finished with my scans."

Optimus thought it over for a moment, knowing that Rhinox would not have made the suggestion unless he believed that he needed to, and nodded to her, "Deal." Looking back at the other three before him he gave his final orders and watched them depart down the lifts.

Ruby joined Rhinox at his usual station to receive her orders for that flight, the Maximal engineer sitting down before he began to pull up the program he needed. "A quick pass over the area should do for today," he told her quietly, "but I wouldn't blame you for taking your time on this. Dinobot and Rattrap seem to be in one of their moods today."

She eyed the huge Maximal with a slight smirk, "Yes, sir." A quick transformation into beast mode, Ruby hopped up onto the command table as she waited for the overhead doors to open.

Primal was still at the command table focusing on the holo-screen before him when she opened up her jets and leapt into the air. He eyed the closing hatch with a frown, "I hope you have a good reason for editing my orders."

Rhinox smiled a bit as he looked over his shoulder at his friend and commander. "I've noticed she has a little tick to her when she realizes that she needs to do something."

"Impressive observation," the Transmetal ape mumbled a bit as he looked back at his screen. "It makes me wonder _what_ is going to happen today to warrant it."

"That is for her to know and us to find out," the Maximal engineer replied solomly as he went back to adjusting the scanners.

* * *

Fortunately for him working with the systems of the Ark back in the waning days of the Beast Wars gave Rhinox a better understanding about Autobot systems and how best to access them with the technology he was use to. While the prized laboratory was a spark of hope in the dark, without a solid source of power it would have to remain dark. There was also the risk of too much energon use bringing the Vehicons straight to him.

Patrols were a threat to his survival and he did not have the resources to completely fortify the huge area. The truth was while the laboratory negated his need to search for spare usable parts he didn't need to utilize the whole space. There were quite a few consoles that, with enough gutted out of them, had room enough to make a home out of. There were already piles of scrap scattered throughout the lab so he simply added to them instead of creating a new one to keep from drawing attention if the area was searched regularly.

After securing the access panel to the side of the machine he now called home, Rhinox had begun to unpack what meager belongings he had managed to salvage. It was far from perfect and somewhat cramped for a being of his size, but if it kept him safe long enough for Ruby to succeed then he would make due. The next order of business was to map the area to locate energon storage areas.

* * *

After her fly over of Grid Omega Ruby had started heading towards Predacon territory. Once she was sure she had gone far enough the flying squirrel activated her signal dampening device and returned to the Axalon. Since Rhinox and Optimus were still at the base she had to be very careful not to draw unwanted attention to herself. Fortunately Sentinel was not actively shielding the base since Silverbolt had returned to the ship just moments before she had so Ruby was able to access the ship through the gun turrets on the top rear of the Axalon. The sun would be setting within a few mega-cycles so she had to be quick.

Once in her room Ruby first opened her window before quickly digging her prize from its hiding spot, grunting as she pulled it free. The thing was still heavy but she had made sure to wash it clean of the mud so she would not have to endure the nasty lingering taste in her beast mouth again. With a sigh at remembering how heavy the thing was to carry in the first place, Ruby quickly transformed into her beast mode and shoved the Golden Disk into her cheek pockets before taking off out the window. The winds were on her side this time, the skies void of storms, but the current from her flight still made for a more zig-zagged trip than she wished for.

The sun had begun to set before she had even spotted the mountain top she had acquired her heavy cargo from several lunar-cycles before. She spat out the disk as soon as she landed, rubbing her sore beast cheeks and neck with her paws before she looked around. Shock struck her as she took in the damaged area. Mentally giving the command to transform into her robot mode Ruby looked around at the scorched scene before her. Rocks had been overturned and thrown aside as if someone was in a rush to find something before he vented his anger with his fiery breath.

"Megatron did come after the disk," she mumbled to herself, glad she had guessed correctly about a possible target for her foe.

The sound of a jet like system filled the air, and filled her with panic. Rushing to the opening of the mountain top, Ruby carefully peeked out from behind one of the stone pillars that surrounded the area as she spotted Megatron carrying Dinobot in his claws. The honorable 'Predacon' did not look particularly pleased as they approached. Whirling around she tried to find the rock that Dinobot originally had hidden the disk under only to find it thrown against one of the surrounding stone pillars. She had to hide the disk and fast.

* * *

The flight was long, perfect for thinking, and Dinobot had a lot to think about. In the short time that he had spent with the Predacons, especially Megatron, Dinobot had come to realize that it was no true place for him. He was Predacon but there was no honor with them on this planet. It was easy to see how Megatron's perceived power had driven him further into the depths of madness. There was no care for his troops, not even an iota's worth. No, Dinobot had come to see what the tyrant had thought of every single one of his crew: pawns to sacrifice for his own desires.

Despite not originally being Maximal, even when they were mortal enemies, Optimus Primal still showed Dinobot a deep respect. Primal cared for every single one of his troops under his command, even sacrificed his life for them all. Optimus' need to protect them was probably the main reason he had followed Rhinox back from the dead. The adopted Maximal's original question he had asked himself that morning, 'was he really ready to betray his Predacon heritage for the Maximals?', still bounced around in his processor. The more pressing question at the moment was would Megatron allow him to live after he regained the Golden Disk?

As they landed Dinobot looked around while Megatron transformed into his own robot mode. The place was not as he had left it. Panic seized his spark as he slowly realized that Ruby's foe, the future Megatron, had been here to steal the disk back. He had been foolish to not realize that Megatron wouldn't have recalled this place after what had taken place today. If he, the future Megatron, had taken it then why had he not given it to his past self?

Megatron looked around as well, noting the burnt rocks that surrounded them with a dark frown. "Where is it?" he demanded sharply at Dinobot.

If he failed to produce the disk, Dinobot knew that his life was over before he even fully realized his failure. As he was about to speak both he and Megatron were surprised as Ruby, in her robot mode, leapt up from behind a grouping of rocks and stood on them before the pair, her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her head titled a bit forward while her face was firm. Megatron had instantly aimed his tail weapon at her, its power glowing ominously in the dark.

"What are you doing here?" Dinobot snapped at her, angry that she openly put herself in danger.

"I could ask you the same thing," she replied, her calm tone belying her true feelings. "They said you were taken, I didn't know this was how we'd find you." A lie, she knew, but they didn't.

"Things have changed, Ruby," the saurian warrior snarled. He didn't want her there. He wanted her to flee for her own safety. Dinobot had a sinking feeling that Megatron was going to ask him to do the worst thing in the universe if she stayed there, defiantly perching her tiny self on the stones.

"We don't have time for this, Dinobot," Megatron growled, "End her now."

Taking a deep, snarled breath, the warrior eyed the Predacon leader. "She is a noble fighter, able to best a being ten times her size."

"And as useless to me as you are becoming, yeess," the tyrant countered.

"I also have the one thing that you want," Ruby stated firmly, tilting her head up a bit.

Megatron smirked at the tone of challenge the tiny femme gave him. Her false bravado will cost her dearly this day. "What of your loyalty to the Maximals?"

Jumping down from the rocks, she did not flinch as both he and Dinobot stepped closer to her. Focusing up at her friend she hoped that her honesty was as open in her optics as she was trying to make it. "My loyalty lies with him."

Dinobot snarled softly down at her, weighing everything in his mind. She was risking her mission on this very event. If Megatron didn't believe her then her life could easily be forfeit and Megatron would win. There was also how Megatron would treat her under his command, if the Predacon tyrant allowed them both to join his ranks, and Dinobot did not wish that.

Megatron only smiled in satisfaction, noticing how the pair looked at each other. Stupid Maximal sentiment, he could utilize it to his advantage, but he would be careful not to let them get too comfortable with each other. If Ruby is as good as Dinobot says she is then the pair could easily overthrow him. Lowering his weapon the tyrant asked darkly, "Where is my Golden Disk?"

Ruby looked over at Megatron, "Not where Dinobot put it, if that's what you're asking."

Dinobot fought warning her about the defiant tone she kept using, knowing that it would only serve in making Megatron furious at her. "You followed me that night."

Looking back up her friend, the Transmetal rodent nodded, "I did. I also took the disk after you left."

"And not give it to Primal?" Megatron scoffed, "I find that hard to believe."

Ruby raised her optic ridges at the tyrant. "How would I explain to him how _I_ got the disk in the first place? I'm good at what I do, but bringing unwanted suspicions to my actions does me little good. Besides, I was trained by the best, though Rattrap would disagree with me on that."

Dinobot fought a smile. Megatron had no idea exactly how the Maximal infiltrator would disagree with her, but that was not the point right now. "Ruby, where is the disk?"

Looking back up at Dinobot, she gave him an even look before tipping her head to the rocks she had first stood on. "Back there."

Walking over, Dinobot reached behind the group of boulders to take a hold of the disk. Pulling it free, he contemplated it once more before he handed it over to Megatron. Knowing full well that he was giving Megatron the victory he had been seeking since before the theft of the Autobot Relic, Dinobot did not feel honorable over the events that the tyrant had planned.

"Ah, excellent," Megatron preened, "with this _little_ bobble we will write a new chapter in the history of our race." Without wasting time, the purple Transmetal Predacon tucked the Golden Disk onto his person. He would not risk leaving it properly unprotected again, noo.

"Or destroy it," Dinobot mumbled to himself, looking down at Ruby before him, his back to the Predacon leader. _Either way, I will know the truth at last._

"I assure you all will happen as I have calculated," the tyrant stated before lifting his weapon up to take off Dinobot's head. Ruby jerked, seeing Megatron about to strike him down and prepared to leap between them, when Megatron was suddenly taken down by a powerful shot.

"Whoa!" Rattrap said as he had finally made it up the stone steps, his weapon trained on the threat to his comrades, "Looks like I made it just in time!"

"Wrong," Dinobot snarled as he powered up his laser eyes, "as usual!" He let the charge go straight into Rattrap. The Maximal flew backwards into a pile of rocks behind him. Ruby gasped in surprise, both of her hands covering her mouth in shock as she watched. Rattrap had told he some of this night, but not how Dinobot had nearly blown a hole through him. Or was this different because of her?

"Did I… miss somethin'?" the rodent based fighter mumbled in pain.

Megatron had not missed the action as he gained his feet back underneath him, "Welcome home, Dinobot." Slowly stomping his way over, the tyrant aimed his tail energy cannon straight at Rattrap's head.

"Rattrap might have backup," Dinobot warned as he tucked Ruby further behind him, not wishing to remain there with the rodents there to witness his shame, "we should _go_."

"Yeess," Megatron 'agreed', thinking of one final test for the traitor to prove himself loyal with, "as soon as you exterminate this vermin."

Rattrap looked up and around the weapon pointed at his head at the Predacon he had been working with for so long and had come to think of as his friend.

"He is defeated, it is unnecessary," Dinobot stated powerfully.

"Call it a final test of loyalty," Megatron taunted, "or should we have Ruby do it for you?" Privately Megatron was pleased when the cornered warrior pulled his sword free from his subspace pocket and stomped towards the grounded Maximal.

Focusing up at the Velociraptor based fighter, Rattrap was fuming. It was more of the anger he had with himself for trusting Dinobot as much as he had. The friendship that he thought they were developing, despite the fights that they always had. What had first been stabs of distrust had become playful jabs at one-another. Rattrap hated the fact that he had come to trust Dinobot with his life, letting his anger feed the look on his face as he looked into the optics of the bot that was going to take his life, having apparently already taken Ruby and turned her against the Maximals as well, "I always _knew_ you was a stinkin' Pred."

Dinobot's processor kept running through everything, even as he lifted his blade while Rattrap looked away. If he was to regain his place at Megatron's side he had to end his best friend's life. Rattrap, despite the smaller bot's questionable skills as an infiltrator and spy, had more honor than all of the Predacons, here and on Cybertron, combined. Despite their origins Rattrap was like a brother to him. Then there was Ruby standing behind him, watching. She had told him to trust his honor. There was no honor in this! Why was she allowing this to happen?

As Dinobot hesitated, Rattrap looked up at his executioner. There was a deep regret in Dinobot's optics, a pain as they both realized the truth: Dinobot could not kill his friend. There would be the Pit to pay after it was all over, but he would let his honor guide his path.

Knowing that Megatron would strike him down for failing this 'final test', Dinobot quickly turned to face his true enemy, locking his blade with the energy cannon on the tyrant's arm. They both pressed their full strength into gaining the upper hand before becoming slightly distracted as behind Dinobot Rattrap's communicator chirped into life.

"_Rattrap, this is Silverbolt. Optimus and I are on your position. See you in a few nano-clicks."_

"Make it faster den dat!" Rattrap ordered.

Dinobot looked back at Megatron, "Your… _ambition_ has made you insane, Megatron. You will destroy both Maximal _and_ Predacon and all who came before."

"Then return to your Maximals, if they would suffer a traitor like you in their midst," Megatron snapped back as the pair finally broke free of their bladed stand-off.

Ruby couldn't take any more of it, she pulled her gatling gun free from subspace and cocked it, standing firm as she aimed it at the Predacon leader, "Get lost, Megatron!"

The Predacon tyrant transformed into his flight mode and quickly retreated from the mountain top. He had his prize and the loss of Dinobot was still no real loss at all, but he would make the traitor pay for the setback he cost him.

As Rattrap gained his feet Ruby walked over to the pair after she stowed her weapon away. Dinobot and Rattrap had shared a silent look before shame made the taller Maximal look away. In the distance they could hear the approach of Optimus Primal and Silverbolt, the pair landing in front of the group in their beast modes.

"Dinobot!" Silverbot's relief was palpable, "You're alright!"

"What's the situation, Rattrap?" Optimus stated, since Rattrap was in charge after Dinobot had been kidnapped.

"Well," the rodent began, "you just missed Megatron. Oh, 'nda… Ol' Chopperface 'ere decided ta play Predacon again, even draggin' Ruby along."

Optimus looked up at the much taller warrior, surprised to say the least. Dinobot could not face the Maximal commander, not with this weighing on him. Ruby held her arms as she watched him walk a bit away from them.

"Dinobot?" Optimus inquired, knowing that he didn't really need to ask the question they were all thinking.

"It is… true. I have betrayed you."

Silverbolt couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How could you? Your honor?"

"Is _not_ Maximal honor. It is Predacon honor," Dinobot quickly corrected the Fuzor, "I… am Predacon. Though Megatron is close to achieving a _great_ victory I… foolishly believed I wanted to be part of it."

"And now?" Optimus asked, his tone letting Dinobot know that he would listen to what he had to say.

Turning back towards them all, Dinobot snarled as he squared his shoulders and spoke from his spark. "I wish to fight with you until we win the Beast Wars, or are destroyed trying. If you would not have me, I will fight Megatron alone."

Ruby's spark seized in her torso at hearing his prophetic words. Quietly she walked over to him and held his hand in both of her own as Silverbolt began to speak, the action not going unnoticed by the others.

"I was a Predacon once," the Fuzor said solemnly before looking up at Optimus, "you gave me a chance."

Optimus already had a lot on his mind with what Dinobot had done and told them. Silverbolt's words spoke of a second chance and hope, and surely Ruby knew better than to place her trust, and from the looks of things her spark, in the hands of someone that would betray them all. Focusing on the last one to confirm, Optimus was the most curious about what _he_ had to say on the matter. "Rattrap?"

"What?! Dhe! For bootin' up cold! Ya know how I feel about Lizard Breath!" The Transmetal rodent ranted, all the while stirring up Dinobot's anger, "Ya can't trust 'im! And he smells bad. Then dere's de teeth! You ever seen 'im eat?"

"By the Pit," Dinobot yelled, stomping his way over to the smelly rodent, Ruby having move to hold onto his arm as he drug her over as she and Optimus both tried to keep him from hitting Rattrap, "how much of this drivel must I endure?!"

"Buuuut I guess I kinda gotten use ta 'im," Rattrap ended happily, smirking at the saurian fighter.

Primal, giving a smirk of his own, had heard all he needed to. Turning to face Dinobot he gave the warrior his decision, "You better change your activation code back."

Dinobot was relieved. While the prospect was not ideal, if the Maximals refused to let him return he would indeed fight Megatron alone. "I am… grateful," he informed his commanding officer before powering his systems down to make the changes. When he came back online he focused once more on Optimus. "I must discuss something of _great_ importance with you."

"Time enough for that back at the base," the Transmetal ape smiled, "See you there."

The three in their robot modes watched as Primal and Silverbolt took off to the skies before they focused on their own way to return home. Ruby had finally pulled away from Dinobot's arm now that Rattrap was relatively safe from harm and had turned to look over the scorched mountain top again. Dinobot had leaned over to whisper in her audio sensor as Rattrap transformed into his beast mode.

"Thank you," he told her with a gentle purr. Knowing that he meant her protection of the Golden Disk, she just smiled up at him before Rattrap interrupted the pair.

"Maximal taxi, on de way home," he pulled up beside Dinobot, "Ya need a ride?"

"So, I am to be punished after all," Dinobot replied sarcastically, making Ruby chuckle as he settled onto Rattrap's back.

"Ya know, I really thought you were gonna scrap me back dere," the rodent said as he revved his motor, "How come ya didn't?"

"Consider that a… rehearsal for the real moment," Dinobot settled in further, looking around at his surroundings one last time, "A moment _I_ will choose."

"Glad to have you back, Dino-butt," the wheeled Transmetal rodent stated as he began to drive forward to the rocky staircase, giving Dinobot a rather painful start to the ride back.

"The pleasure… is all yours… Vermin," he got out between painfully jarring landings on the steps.

Ruby just shook her head at the pair with a smile before she went back to looking over her scarred surroundings as Dinobot's grunts echoed around her. She had gotten lucky this time in guessing his moves, but how long would her luck hold out? Transforming into her own beast mode, Ruby leapt free of the mountain top and slowly glided her way back home.

* * *

Megatron had come to hate the ruffling in his head as his memories adapted to the addition of information from the little time traveling rodent's interference, but as this night's events unfolded he was rather surprised. She had kept herself out of the direct events up until now, but taking his anger out on the mountain top had made her act openly to keep the events relatively the same. Dinobot still tried to grovel his traitorous way back under his command when victory seemed at hand only to turn away once more from the Predacons and all their glory, and for what? To later _die_ at the hands of the Predacons.

Despite having the Golden Disk in her possession, and in turn easily winning the Beast Wars if she had kept it or gave it to Primal, Ruby had given it up to save Dinobot. There was also the interaction between the two that would prove most beneficial in the future in a time of his choosing.

Giving a dark chuckle, the tarnished dragon rested his head back down on the rocks as he planned his next moves, "Check."

**Author's Note: I don't own the show.**

Thanks for reading.


End file.
